LiveChat Volunteers – Helping Colorado Vets, Active Service Members and their Family

Since August of 2010, the CLS LiveChat has helped over 400 veterans, active service members and their families find legal information to help them solve their civil legal issues. For November’s pro bono spotlight, we’d like to honor our volunteer attorneys who have volunteered their time consistently and reliably since the program’s inception.

Catherine Lang

Catherine currently works as Senior Corporate Counsel at CH2M Hill. She has lived in Colorado for 20 years and is a transplant from the midwest. Catherine enjoys outdoor activities with her husband and daughter such as hiking, skiing, biking and rock climbing. She said, “I have always had a passion for volunteering with organizations such as Urban Peak, CASA, and Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and now CLS for several years”.

Catherine stated, “I enjoy volunteering with LiveChat because it gives me the opportunity to give back to the people and their families who serve our country. I like knowing that some of my guidance and help is making a big difference in their lives and situations”.

Tom Carroll

Tom is an Associate at Faegre Baker and Daniels where he concentrates on employment litigation, employment counseling, ERISA litigation and other employee benefits disputes, as well as general business litigation.

He devotes significant time to pro bono work which includes working with not only CLS LiveChat, but also trial advocacy in congressional redistricting litigation, and challenges to state agency action on behalf of Medicaid applicants. Tom is accredited to prepare, present and prosecute claims for benefits before the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Tom and his wife have a seven-month-old daughter. Tom said, “we enjoy skiing, cooking, trying new restaurants, and almost all sports”.

Thanks so much to Catherine and Tom for all of your hard work and dedication to the CLS LiveChat project!

Interested in volunteering? Go to http://bit.ly/COProBono on your mobile device and sign up in a few quick steps! You can participate not only by taking cases, but also by helping out at legal clinics, by staffing LiveChat and much more!

Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid is honored to spotlight pro bono attorney Floyd “Bud” Smith for all the fantastic work he has done to help indigent people in our community!

Bud has practiced law for 37 years, mostly representing local government entities and practicing business law. For over a decade, Bud also takes time to “give back and help those in need”, by taking pro bono cases through Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid. Bud has helped countless people with estate planning and has also helped with property issues.

Bud Smith

Bud is originally from Kansas and went to DU Law School. He moved to Southwest Colorado after he was introduced to this beautiful part of Colorado on a backpacking trip.

He is a family man and self proclaimed sports nut who loves the Kansas Jayhawks and of course, the Denver Broncos.

Southwest Bar Volunteer Legal Aid is so grateful to Bud for assisting in our goal to provide equal access to justice in our community.

Wes Hassler is an individual who has demonstrated exemplary leadership and outstanding and sustained service to the public, especially as it relates to support of pro bono legal services, improving access to justice for all, and increasing the resources available to support pro bono service. He has demonstrated long-term commitment to pro bono legal services providing significant and meaningful contribution to extend legal ervices to the poor and to promote pro bono programs. Since 2009, Wes has never missed a Family Law Court Program (FLCP) docket nor has he missed a Neighborhood Legal Advice Clinic.

The FLCP reflects Wes’s many years in practice as a family law attorney and incorporates his experience in conflict resolution. Wes has mentored new attorneys to the program and has successfully demonstrated that dispute resolution without conflict whenever possible is in the best interest of the children.

Boulder County Legal Services (BCLS) celebrated the outstanding tradition of pro bono service in Boulder County at the Annual Pro Bono Luncheon, held April 21st, 2014, at the Boulder Marriott. BCLS honored local attorneys, mediators, law students, and paralegals who volunteered 6,784 hours in 2013 to provide legal services to low-income residents of Boulder County.

An annual highlight of the event is the presentation of the John Marshall Award, which is awarded annually by the Boulder County Bar Association in honor of John Robert Marshall, a local attorney who tirelessly advocated for the poor.

This year’s recipient, Howard Bernstein, was recognized for his quiet dedication and his generosity in accepting pro bono clients referred by BCLS over the past two decades. Colleagues remarked on his humility, his inspiration to those he mentors, and his strong belief in giving back to the community.

Howard has volunteered on the BCLS pro bono panel since 1998, helping clients with IRS matters and mentoring young attorneys. With a strong belief in giving back to the community, Howard serves on the Board of Directors for Open Arts. He raises money for the Children’s Hospital by riding in the Courage Classic cycling tour, and assists non-profit organizations at reduced fees. He lectures on legal ethics, taxation, employment and international law topics for lawyers, and is a regular moderator at the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado.

On May 8, 2014, the Northwest Colorado Legal Services Project did something it has never done before: recognized two attorneys who had received the same honor in the past.

The “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” award is presented to an attorney who has gone above and beyond in his or her pro bono contributions. In Gunnison County, two attorneys shared this award in 2014:

James H. Starr, a volunteer with NCLSP for over 20 years, who was also “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year” in 1993. He was honored again in 2014 in recognition of his efforts to expand services to low-income clients by instituting a second monthly advice clinic in Gunnison County to serve residents of Crested Butte. The clinic is held at his office each month and every member of his staff participates.

Clayton R. Miller, another long-time volunteer, originally was named “Pro Bono Attorney of the Year’ in 2002. He was recognized again in 2014 for his continuing commitment to provide legal representation to domestic violence victims. Mr. Miller assists many victims each year in complex family law litigation, and also accepts other pro bono cases and assists with advice clinics and community education.